Catholic Ordinary Time

Oh the green of Ordinary Time. For non-Catholics that may not make any sense, but Catholics know what I am referring to. I'd like to share some thoughts on Ordinary Time today. Personally, I love Ordinary Time. Many people can't wait for Advent and Lent etc., and I too love those times of year, but for me I worship best in church during Ordinary Time. There are not so many distractions during Ordinary Time- maybe I have a short attention span or something. During Advent it's often hard to set aside all the hype over the season and focus on why we even have an Advent season. That's not to say I don't get the warm fuzzies and excitement of Advent, I do. But I also know myself well enough to know that I am not as focused at mass during these times as I am during Ordinary Time. I belong to a small parish church with many members (that is to say our church is small but our membership is not). Most of these folks don't always attend a weekly Sunday mass during Ordinary Time, but come on the holidays. When this happens people are standing OUTSIDE listening to mass because there are just no seats for them. Clearly my parish needs to expand our church, but that is getting away from my thoughts on Ordinary Time. I have divided feelings over some of these Catholics who show up only for Christmas and Easter. On the one hand, I am pleased that they still attend mass and know how important Advent, Lent and Easter (etc) are. On the other hand... I can't help but wonder (yeah it's none of my business I know and I am not judging them as I don't know their lives, but I can't help but wonder...) why they don't feel the desire and need to attend mass all year? Or for whatever reason they have. Maybe it's because I am a convert and still often feel overwhelmed with the joy of finally being Catholic and able to participate in the Sacraments. And it's not just me, even my kids love the sacraments and will often argue on the way to Penance (Confession) who gets to confess first (thus giving them something else to confess)! We love our faith and our Church and all it's Sacraments. I just can't seem to understand some Catholics who only go to mass for "special" holy days and not during Ordinary Time. I know several parents in my parish who only attend mass during their children's time in Religious Education classes (AKA: 'Confraternity of Christian Doctrine or 'CCD' as it's better known). I think they are missing out on the specialness of mass during Ordinary Time. I love the holy days, don't get me wrong, but there is something special to me about Ordinary Time. I absolutely love late spring thru summer in my parish. There is a sense of completeness after Lent and Easter and the children's First Holy Communion. All the hustle and bustle is behind us for a while. This is when I can really deepen my prayer life and enjoy mass to the fullest without distractions. Just the parking alone during Advent or Easter is a distraction in my parish, not to mention the attempt to find a seat for yourself and your children! If you are parking half a mile down the street because your parish parking lot is over flowing and you have to hike to mass, then stand against a wall or outside in the cold because there are no seats left, how much are you able to put that aside and really focus on God and worship? For me, not very much. I know some people probably have no problems with that, but for me it's a distraction and mass is too important to me, to be distracted like that. So admittedly, I often get frustrated with myself for not putting these type of things aside and giving my all at mass as I should. Something I clearly have to work on. So Ordinary Time is a welcome time for me and my family as they seem to share a few of my views on this. So I hope those Catholics who don't attend weekly mass during Ordinary Time will come back to the Church and enjoy mass during a more peaceful, less stressful time of year. Come to mass during Ordinary Time and see what you've been missing!

From the "pits of Hell!"

Has anyone ever told you that your faith and religion come from the "pits of Hell!"? Unfortunately, my answer to that question is "yes", and more than once. There is such venom directed at the Catholic Church and many times it's members. Why? I believe it's because people don't really know what Catholics believe or why we believe as we do. They assume they know it all and go off half cocked spreading their assumptions about the Catholic Church and the Catholic laity. Take a look at what someone wrote, and I tell you in all honesty, I do not make this stuff up. It comes from real people who have a real hatred for the Catholic Church and sometimes Catholic people.

Lin writes: The Catholic religion is straight out of the pits of Hell! Those who want to fellowship with the Roman Catholic Church and accept it as a true "church" are ignoring its blasphemous teachings concerning Mary & statues & the pope, they are an abomination to the Lord.

Now Catholics and many non-Catholics know that the Catholic Church certainly does not come from "the pits of hell". As I have shared several times on this blog, the Catholic Church was founded by Jesus Christ in Matthew 16:18. Jesus created her and promised that the gates of hell would not prevail against her. He did not say she came from "the pits of hell" but that the 'gates of hell would not prevail against her'. That is scripture. The Catholic Church is a "true church", as a matter of fact it is THE "true Church" because of what I just said. There are no blasphemous teachings taught concerning Mary, statues or the pope. Mary is the Mother of God incarnate and we call her such. She is our Mother too because Christ the King is our brother and God the Father is our Father. We are one family in God. Nothing blasphemous about that. We don't worship statues or the pope. Again, nothing blasphemous at all- only what some people THINK the Catholic faith is all about. They assume because we have religious icons and statues that we are worshipping them. We are not. I'd like to ask the people who feel this way if they set up nativity scenes during Advent with statues of the Holy Family and Wisemen? Or perhaps they wear a guardian angel pin on their coats. How about a cross on a wall in their home or hanging from their necks as jewelry? Why is it that these things are often overlooked by anti-Catholics while the point their fingers at a Catholic Church with a statue of Mary in front of it? Is that statue really any different than the ones they set up in their nativity scenes every Christmas? Catholics do not worship statues or Mary, we worship God. There is nothing in scripture that says anything the Catholic Church teaches is "an abomination to the Lord". That is a complete falsehood. What is "an abomination to Lord" in my opinion is hatred and spreading lies. These are the things some people should be more concerned about than what they perceive as "blasphemous" about a church or group of people. Reminds me of Jesus' teaching in Matthew 7:3-5.

"Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye."

This Blogger says "Thanks"

I just wanted to take a moment and say thank you to all my readers. A special thank you to those who email me, whether we agree or disagree on theology or anything else, I really do enjoy the emails and opinions shared. Often times all we hear about the Internet is the bad stuff and the abuses that occur, but that isn't all there is to being online. Blogging for me has been nothing but positive. I enjoying reading other blogs and have a wonderful time writing for my own blog. It's an interesting way for people to cross each others paths in life and learn a bit about each other, even if it's just a snippet of a persons life and views. I want you to know that I seriously think about the views you share with me. And the questions and statements give me much to think about, not just in how to respond but also in reflecting about how people view life in general. What we have in common and the things we differ on. So please, keep the opinions and feedback (good or bad) coming. And let me know what you'd like to see more of or less of on this blog. May God bless you all.

Julie @ Connecticut Catholic Corner

Celibacy and Clergy Abuse

Kathy writes: So why are your priests called to celibacy? And does the call to celibacy cause them to become weak and fall? We all have read the reports about male Priests that attack and molest male children, homosexual orientation or perversion? Both maybe.

My response: Clergy abuse, as all abuse is a despicable thing and should not be tolerated in any situation-ever. I can't begin to know the answer to why some people abuse other people and sometimes target the most innocent among us- children. What I do know, is that celibacy does not create molesters and sexual abuse happens in and out of all churches, schools, temples, synagogues, homes and businesses such as daycare centers. Its not just a Catholic problem, it's a world problem. Everything must be done to protect against these heinous crimes, and I believe the Catholic Church as many others, have worked hard in recent years towards keeping everyone safe and protected. There should be zero tolerance for abuse everywhere.
Now about celibacy, Jesus Christ himself led a celibate life and he tells us that some will be celibate for the priesthood. Matt.19:12 "For some are eunuchs because they are born that way; others were made that way by men; and others have renounced marriage because of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it."
Even Paul says it's good to be celibate. 1 Corinthians 7:8 "Now to the unmarried and the widows I say: It is good for them to stay unmarried, as I am."
So clearly if celibacy were the cause of abuse, Jesus nor Paul would have said these things.

For more information on the Catholic Clergy abuse please visit: http://www.usccb.org/nrb/johnjaystudy/

"hordes of dead saints" Oh my!

Shar writes: Bowing to Mary is Idolatry!There is absolutely NOTHING in the Bible leading Christians to recognize Mary, adore Mary, or talk to Mary. Although most Catholics deny worshipping Mary, a picture is worth 1,000 words. The picture of Pope John Paul II adoring Our Lady of Fatima, and photos of Catholics bowing to Mary, are clear irrefutable evidences of idolatry. Look up the word "worship" in any dictionary and you'll find that Catholics do indeed WORSHIP Mary and other hordes of dead saints.

My response: "hordes of dead saints" and "worshipping Mary"! Oh my! LOL Sorry, but I admit to getting a chuckle out of your wording. Let me say very clearly that Catholics do NOT worship Mary or any other saint. We worship God and God alone. Here's another clear statement and I speak for myself as a Catholic here, I do adore Mary. Mary is precious to me and is my Mother whom I seek to honor. I do pray to Mary, as in petition her to pray for me and with me. I do not pray to her as to God. There is a difference as any good dictionary will show (see definition at the bottom of this post). Pope John Paul II did indeed adore Mary- you got that part correct. He never worshipped Mary, but he did adore her as do many Catholics. Mary is the Mother of God Incarnate how can anyone not love and adore her? She too suffered so that her Son our Lord could bring salvation to the world (Luke 2:35). Can you begin to imagine being a Mother and standing back to witness what her Son our Lord went thru? Would that not cause you to suffer also? Jesus brought salvation to the world and is our one and only Savior, no denying that. But Jesus did not suffer alone according to Sacred Scripture and common sense to anyone who even for a moment tries to imagine what Mary endured witnessing the torture and brutal assault on her Son and His death upon the cross. What a horrible event for anyone to endure and watch, let alone a Mother seeing it occur to her child. For Mary, to see her completely innocent and precious Son, God incarnate go thru that for love of the world... well, yes I do adore and love Mary. She suffered for my salvation because she was and is, the Mother of God Incarnate. And if bowing to Mary is idolatry in your opinion then are all the people who bow to kings and queens committing idolatry too? I many parts of the world people don't shake hands to greet each other, they bow to each other. Is this idolatry in your opinion? You see how silly that way of thinking is? If you bow in worship you are sinning, but for any other reason it is not and God knows the heart of all people. Mary is the Mother of God incarnate, she is the Queen of Heaven because her Son Jesus is the King of Kings, and as such bowing is not idolatry. It can only be idolatry when it is done in worship to someone or something other than God.
Now about the "hordes of saints" (still LOLing over that one), I guess you are technically correct in saying that the Catholic Church does have "hordes of saints" (see definition at bottom) but let me again be clear, Catholics ONLY worship God. We do not worship any saints. I believe I've mentioned this before on this blog, so my apologies if my readers are having deja vu. The Family of God is not separated by death. God is the God of the living, not the dead! (Luke 20:38 "He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.") The believers on earth are part of the same Family of God that the saints in Heaven are. We are One in Christ. The saints in heaven can and do pray for us (Rev. 5:8). If a Catholic on earth asks a saint to pray for and with them they are not worshipping the saint. They are petitioning the saint, that is requesting that the saint pray for them and with them. This is not worship. Prayer has more than one meaning (as seen in the definition below- #3 & #4 & #8 are to saints). Worship is set aside for God only. Catholics do not worship saints, we worship God.

From Dictionary.com
horde
noun, verb, hord·ed, hord·ing.
–noun
1.
a large group, multitude, number, etc.; a mass or crowd: a horde of tourists.
---------------------------------
pray
–verb (used with object)
1.to offer devout petition, praise, thanks, etc., to (God or an object of worship).
2.to offer (a prayer).
3.to bring, put, etc., by praying: to pray a soul into heaven.
4.to make earnest petition to (a person).
5.to make petition or entreaty for; crave: She prayed his forgiveness.
6.to offer devout petition, praise, thanks, etc., to God or to an object of worship.
7.to enter into spiritual communion with God or an object of worship through prayer. –verb (used without object)
8.to make entreaty or supplication, as to a person or for a thing.

Catholic Church And God's Word

Nora writes: One of the great wonders of the world to me is how anyone could claim to be a Catholic and still believe the Bible is God's Word. Even the Catholic Douay version of the Bible condemns the Catholic faith repeatedly. The honest truth is that Catholics have been brainwashed to accept the traditional teachings of the Vatican as superior to whatever the Word of God actually says. Jesus plainly condemned placing the traditions of religion over the Word of God (Mark 7:6-13). Psalm 118:8 admonishes, "It is better to trust in the LORD than to put confidence in man." The end!

My response: Well, I don't "claim" to be Catholic Nora, I am Catholic and very happy to be Catholic. I certainly haven't got all the answers but I will attempt to do my best and reply to you. I very much believe the Bible to be God's Word. I know of no bible that "condemns the Catholic faith" repeatedly or even once. I also don't know any brainwashed Catholics- do you or do you just think all Catholics are brainwashed because you don't understand our faith? I don't understand many faiths and religions of the world, but I don't believe everyone who has a faith different from my own is a brainwashed person, but I guess that is just me.
Your statement: "the traditional teachings of the Vatican as superior to whatever the Word of God actually says" is absurd to put it nicely. Where did you ever hear or see a statement from the Vatican saying they were "superior" to the Word of God? Please email me or comment on my blog with a reference for that statement. What I think you are confusing is the Catholic view that Sacred Tradition (oral teaching) and Sacred Scripture (written teaching) are equal, neither above the other. They go together. Protestants (to my knowledge) deny this.

The "tradition" (little "t") spoken of in Mark 7 is NOT Sacred Tradition, but a Jewish custom of washing hands. This is not at all the same thing as Sacred Tradition in the Catholic Church. There is a distinct difference when you use a capital "T" and when a lower case "t" is used. They are not the same and I think that is where many people (Catholics included) can and do get confused when hearing the word "tradition" used. The Vatican does not place "the traditions of religion over the word of God" as you stated above. The Catholic Church teaches what Christ entrusted her to teach. You didn't give an example, so I can't comment further on that.

Hope this cleared things up for you Nora.

The Holy Catholic Church

Michael L writes: The RCC has played on ignorance and used religious intimadation since its very unholy beginning. It was never the true church but a counterfiet. The command is not to come in but to come out of this church.


My response: Hello Michael, while I am always glad for people to share their views with me, I also have to respectfully disagree when it comes to views like yours to my Church. I do not believe the Catholic Church (you specify only the Latin Rite- but I assume you mean the whole Catholic Church) has "played on" anyone's ignorance. The Church has done what Christ commanded her to do in the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20 "Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."). This is what the Catholic Church has been doing for more than two thousand years. The Catholic Church had a very holy beginning as it was Christ to founded her. Jesus is speaking with Simon in Matt. 16:17-19, when He (Jesus) changes Simon's name to "Peter" (which means 'rock') and tells Simon Peter that on that rock (Peter) Jesus is going to build His Church. Matt. 16:17-19 "Jesus replied, 'Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter [Rock], and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of Hades [Hell] will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."
This is the holy beginning of Christ's Holy Catholic Church. The Church "came alive", if you will, at Pentecost [Acts 2] (something we will all be celebrating on May 11th), but she was founded in Matt.16 as I've shown with the above scripture.
I will give you that in history there were men in the Church who probably did and have used the Church to attempt to intimidate. That was and is wrong. God doesn't need men to intimidate people into anything. We need to do God's will and let God deal with everything else. We are responsible for our actions and should try to live our lives as Christ wants us to and that does not include intimidation in my opinion, for whatever that is worth as I can't speak for anyone else. Now, there is something that you may or may not be implying here. I have come across more than one anti-Catholic who feels that the Churches use of excommunication is a 'tool for intimidation'. IF you are referring to this as an intimidation I have to disagree with you. Excommunication is not to intimidate, but to correct someone in severe error who is not only harming themselves but also more than likely harming others by their erroneous and or sinful actions. To see this in scripture please read 1 Corinthians 5 about expelling the immoral brother from the Church. Again, this is meant as a last action by the Church to correct someone, show them how dangerous and grave their actions are in the hopes of them repenting and coming back into the Church. This is completely biblical and if you think its intimidation than that is something you'd have to take up with God as it's His way of the Church dealing with these type of serious ongoing situations.
I really don't know what you mean about "counterfeit" church, the Holy Catholic Church is not a counterfeit as she is the ONLY church on earth created by Jesus Christ in scriptures. All the churches that came after her are better described as "counterfeit" than the Catholic Church. These later churches were begun my men- well meaning men most of them, but still by men not by Jesus Christ as the Catholic Church was in the bible.
You then mention a command that is not found anywhere in scripture. You say there is a command to not enter the Catholic Church, this is completely false as I've shown with the Great Commission given by Christ to His Church. It is our Lord's desire that we all are united in our faith and belong to the Church He founded and gave to the world. This is the only Church where all God's Seven Sacraments can be found. These are blessings and wonderous gifts from God to us and He wants everyone to have these and be united in His Church. Jesus didn't preach about thousands of differing denominations and opposing doctrines. He didn't want believers divided over doctrines and beliefs. Jesus never told anyone to leave His Holy Catholic Church.

The Catholic Voter

What's a Catholic to do? While the primaries in Connecticut are over many Catholics are still struggling with balancing their faith and their voting options. Some Catholics already know who they are supporting and hope to see in the White House next, but many do not. This post is to the undecided Catholics out there. How many of you are making pros and cons lists? I am not going to get all political on this blog, I figure there are more than enough political blogs out there without adding my two cents. But from a Catholic point of view, I found a video on Youtube from Father Frank Pavone who has something to say about voting when our options aren't clear and we don't see any clear good person to vote for. I agree with Father Pavone that we need to use our right to vote and not stay home because we don't care for the choices. There is always a choice to be made and one choice will be better (even if not by much) than the other choice. So take your time and make your pros and cons lists then vote! Don't let others decide for you who our next President will be. Don't let others decide who your next Senator or Representative or state officials will be. Your vote is your voice. It's your right. Don't throw away your right to vote because you are unhappy with the choices before you. Make the best choice you can and let your voice be heard. Vote.